"Remembering to Forget: Post-Ceasefire Theatre in Northern Ireland"

This essay considers theatrical performance as a process that can aestheticize violent loss and trauma in order to explore the potential for transcendence and open hopeful possibilities for the future. It is particularly concerned with the ways in which theatre in Northern Ireland has been engaging with experiences of grief and loss as the post-Ceasefire society continues to take shape. Drawing upon Dolan’s work on the ‘utopian performative’ (2005, 5), and incorporating Phelan’s work on the ontology of performance and Carlson’s exploration of theatre and memory in The Haunted Stage, the paper analyzes three performances from 2006-7: The Waiting Room by Kabosh, Macbeth by Replay Productions (both of which are site-specific), and Bog People by Big Telly Theatre Company.